History of Tiwi Japanese Garden (first in a series)

In 1968, Akihiko Ando Shimizu, a Japanese ceramic technician from Toki City, Gifu Prefecture and a Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV), was assigned to Tiwi, Albay to provide technical assistance to local potters at the Tiwi Ceramics Pilot Plant. During his supervision of the construction of the kiln at the Tiwi Ceramics building, he saw a nearby vacant lot and the idea of a Japanese Garden came to his mind.

He then relayed his vision to Mayor Oriel C. Clutario and the good mayor was receptive of the idea, seeing its potential to become a lasting symbol of Filipino-Japanese Friendship in Tiwi. The good mayor, together with the Japanese volunteer, in turn met and consulted the Barangay Officials of Tigbi as well as other prominent citizens of the town and informed them of the proposed project, and the people ultimately responded with a collective effort to make the Japanese garden in the heart of Tiwi a reality.

Funds were sourced both from the local government as well as private contributions like donations and fundraising activites to purchase the necessary materials needed for the project.

Akihiko scoured Tiwi and its environs for plants that he deemed suitable for the garden, and the populace gladly contributed the plants that caught his fancy. He picked and chose the stone slabs from Bariis and Joroan and collected smaller stones and pebbles from the shores of Matalibong. Sacks of coral sands were also brought in from Corangon. Some of the larger rocks were taken from the riverbed in Nagas while some volcanic rocks were transported from the town of Santo Domingo, Albay.

Construction soon followed with the local government of Tiwi providing the logistics and manpower, and by the summer of 1969, work at the Tiwi Japanese Garden was finished.

The Japanese carps (Kois) and gouramis were purchased from Manila and donated by Akihiko, who personally transported them by plane (Air Manila) and bus from the capital to Tiwi.

Tigbi 1968

This was the view in 1968 that Akihiko Shimizu, a Japanese Peace Corps Volunteer, saw from the window of the Tiwi Ceramics building that sparked the idea of installing a Japanese Garden in the vacant lot beside it.

He then told Mayor Oriel C. Clutario about his vision and the good mayor was receptive of the idea. They in turn gathered the Barangay Officials of Tigbi as well as other prominent citizens of the town for the project and they responded with a collective effort to make the Japanese garden in the heart of Tiwi a reality.

When I was in high school, New Wave was in vogue especially in the cities. But in Tiwi, Slow Rock ruled, and my buddies loved the music of the German rock group, Scorpions. We learned how to play their songs on the acoustic guitar and sang our lungs out to Always Somewhere, No One Like You, In Trance, When the Smoke is Going Down, Still Loving You, and Rock You Like A Hurricane, just to name a few.

We decided to call our group "Basag 49ers" one summer night -- we would usually meet up at night at places like the premises of the Tiwi Rural Bank, at Queens Park, the Japanese Garden, and on most occasions on the sidewalks adjacent to the bridge along the national highway in Basag, to jam and pass the time like most teenagers would do at the time and stay out until the wee hours of the morning especially on weekends doing nothing but singing those high-pitched rock songs and tinkering with the old guitar.

I remember Awo (Emmanuel Canale) who could belt out those high notes like the lead singer Klaus Meine effortlessly while strumming his guitar. I remember a casual friend Aba (RIP) who sometimes joined us with his drum set fashioned out of nylon taffeta from old discarded umbrellas in tow. I remember the times when we would strain our eyes from trying to read the lyrics of songs from the list in "Songhits" magazines under the dim street lights.

And I remember the endless jokes and silly banter, as well as the occasional drinking sessions that we had but were kept under wraps because some of us didn't have a "lisensya" from our respective parents yet.

On September 6, 2007, which was more than a decade ago, I made a 2-hour drive to Pine Knob in Clarkston to attend the Detroit stop of the Scorpions Humanity Tour. I did it not only for a respite from the daily grind but also to relive the memories of my teenage years.

Here are two of the video clips from that concert which I stumbled upon while reviewing my archives of my old Gateway laptop this afternoon.

"Power, cheap power, not the kind politicians covet, is a must for national progress."

"Power, cheap power, not the kind politicians covet, is a must for national progress."

Not many people know that back in the early 70s the late Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino was already an advocate of geothermal energy. Yes, 46 years ago today on September 7, 1972, he wrote a three-part article on the subject in the Manila Times.

He wanted the government to harness "geothermal power" and called for the Commission of Volcanology (Comvol) after it successfully installed a "pilot experimental electric generator" in Cale, Tiwi, Albay to be placed under the aegis of the National Science and Development Board (now DOST).

The 2.5 kiloWatt turbine installed by the team of Comvol Chief Volcanologist Arturo Alcaraz caught the late senator's attention because of its potential to generate 500+ MWe.

Ninoy Aquino was fully aware about the Philippines' need to be "electrified" as evidenced by the constant brownouts in Metro Manila then. He averred that "electric power means lights for homes, schools and offices, and energy for farms, mills and factories" which will contribute to nation-building.

He also pointed out the pressing need because "it is even worse in the Visayas and Mindanao, more particularly in the deeper south where only the cities and a few of the bigger towns have electricity."

Thus, even during those times in the volatile days of the 1970s, Ninoy Aquino was still thinking of improving the quality of life of the Filipino people. He was far from the traitor and power-hungry politician that he was painted to be by the forces of the dictatorship years later. Alas, the declaration of Martial Law by President Ferdinand Marcos weeks later would put all of his ideas and plans in the freezer.

Among the places that were listed by Ninoy Aquino in the said article as promising for geothermal exploration and development were Mt. Malinao in Tiwi Albay, Mt. Makiling in Laguna, and Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales among others. The geothermal power plants in Tiwi and Makiling-Banahaw were realized and are part of what constitute as the Luzon Grid.

With the 1973 Global Oil Crisis taking its toll on the nation's energy situation, President Ferdinand Marcos embarked on an outside-funded nationwide energy exploration and electrification program and as they usually say, the rest is history.

Baybay

beneath the clouds and beyond

the horizon i see you

in lavender blue.

👣bms/2017

"Farmer and His Plow"

'Farmer and His Plow
Tiwi, Albay 1959'

This is a very evocative picture of a Tiwinhon and his way of life. A very powerful image go a hardworking man just after a day's toil on the rice fields. A glimpse of a rustic and rural Tiwi back in the day.

I first saw this photo on a Facebook post shared by my old college buddy Gibbs Cadiz, Lifestyle Desk Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I contacted the original poster, Ernie Sarmiento, who turned out to be the son of the photographer Jose Recil Sarmiento, and received his consent to re-post the picture here.

In the 1950s, Jose Recil Sarmiento went on trips all over the archipelago documenting the people and sceneries of the Philippines for the Philippine Tourist and Travel Association (now, Department of Tourism). He probably chanced upon the subject when he visited Naglagbong, Tiwi's number-one tourist attraction at that time, which was proclaimed a National Park by President Ramon Magsaysay five years earlier. Mr. Sarmiento died in 2013.

The Tiwi Town Plaza

In 1880, Gobernadorcillo* Higino Templado conceptualized and constructed Tiwi's first town plaza in order to provide the community with a wholesome place for people to gather on Sundays and holidays to relax and watch the Comedia or local plays.

Municipal President* Mateo Clidoro (1926-1931) initiated the naming of the town plaza to Plaza Templado in honor of Higino Templado during his incumbency. His successor, Mayor Lino Clutario (1931-1934), with monetary donations from the townspeople, was instrumental in erecting a bust of the late mayor Higino Templado at the center of the plaza, where it remained until it was relocated to give way to the building of the "Kiosko" during the term of Mayor Eleodoro Cortezano (1948-1951). Mayor Cristito Cirujales (1952-1955) contributed a water fountain in front of the kiosk, while Mayor Jose C. Templado (1956-1959) in turn built a concrete fence surrounding Plaza Templado in the mid-1950's. Some of these contributions can be seen in the accompanying picture, which was taken in the late 1960s by my late father Aki Shimizu.

During the early days of the geothermal exploration in Tiwi in the 1970s, Mayor Oriel C. Clutario (1968-1992) decided to re-design the town plaza, buried the kiosk under earth and pushed for the concreting of the walkways/sidewalks around the oval and planted the many Talisay and Acacia trees that still stand to this very day.

Mayors Naomi C. Corral (1992-1995), Patria C. Gutierrez (1996-2004) and Ami C. Villanueva (2004-2013) have, in one way or another, taken turns in putting their mark on the town plaza during their terms.

When Leo P. Templado (2013-2016) assumed office as mayor of the town, the local government under his leadership undertook a massive rehabilitation and improvement of the town plaza. Cognizant of the place's history and significance, the Sangguniang Bayan of Tiwi passed an ordinance to restore the newly-minted town plaza back to its original name of Plaza Higino Templado, an affirmation of its historical place in the annals of the history of Tiwi and a fitting homage to the man who played an important role in the affairs of the town's early days.

*gobernadorcillo - municipal president - mayor